Who Watches the Watchers?
by Gandalf3213
Summary: Sokka protects them, he loves them. He would die for them. What if one day he had to? What if it was a choice between saving himself or saving one of them? Would he die for love?
1. The Watcher

**I own nothing**

He watched them.

Everyday he made sure they were okay, that they weren't hurt or too hungry. He was their keeper.

Aang. The word meant light. Aang was the light for the people. He was more concerned about others then he was for himself. Aang cared for everybody, especially Katara. He loved her, and He knew that. He even welcomed it. One more person looking after his little sister.

Katara was strong. Strong-willed, with a strong body and a strong heart. She stood for what she believed in. She was a rebel, a dreamer, the one who searched for love, the one who wanted it most. He loved her more then he loved anything. She was the world, his baby sister.

Toph. She was still the new girl in his eyes. She wasn't trusted yet. Yet he knew that she was a fighter. She fought her parents, her enemies, herself. She fought against stereotypes, especially ones for those who were blind. Toph was proving something, had her own agenda. He liked her for it.

And for himself? Sokka was the self-proclaimed warrior. The protector. He was the one who had the passion, the one who cared the most. He had experienced love, then had lost it. That had made him stronger. He cared for many things, things he wouldn't admit even to himself.

They became stronger. They would win.

Eventually.

Winning was a slow process. They first had to convince people that there was a war to fight. War was upon them, and still people refused to believe it. Their sons, husbands, and fathers died. Still nobody believed.

How do you convince people like that?

He watched as Aang tried to tell them about the evil of the fire nation. The idea had once been as much a part of Sokka as his own heart. Now he had to forse himself to believe it.

Could a whole nation really be evil? Was it only a most of the nation? Or even just some? Were they evil because they were born that way, or because they were to frightened to fight back?

Zuko had fought back, and had paid the price. Zuko wasn't all bad, Sokka knew that now. He wondered if anybody was all bad.

And day after day they lived. They learned how to fight, how to co-exisist. They fell in and out of love. They played, they cried. They were only human, they had feelings. They got hurt.

Day after day Sokka watched the little band. The group that had met under incredible odds. The people he would trust with his life.

He watched them.

But who watches the watchers?

**Review?**


	2. Jet?

**I own nothing**

"Sokka?"

Sokka looked up into his sister's exasperated face, startled out of his day dream. Or was it a nightmare? "Yeah? What?"

Katara pointed towards the woods. "You want to hunt? Go hunt, we need some food."

Sokka didn't bother arguing, as he normally would. The nightmare had scared him; he needed some time to think. Sokka just hoped he wouldn't run into any Rabbit-Bears, though. He hated Rabbit-Bears.

He plunged into the forest, marveling at how quiet it got just past he first layer of trees. The only sounds were the songs of the birds, and the occasional chirp of a cricket. The peace let Sokka think.

Was his nightmare real? It had certainly _felt_ real. Everything about it ― the ship, the girl, the fight, the heat ― it had all been real. What did it mean? Did it mean anything?

His grandmother had said that you could predict the future through dreams. If that were true, he'd be dead by now, because all his dreams usually involved him stumbling off a cliff after seeing a pretty girl.

Movement just behind him. Sokka had turned around and pulled his boomerang out faster then it took a cat to sneeze. He saw it now, a boar. A tiny one, just under two feet long and less then a foot tall. But it would mean that they'd eat well tonight.

The boar probably didn't feel a thing. Sokka cleaned off his boomerang and stuck it back in his pouch, glad that they had something meaty to eat. Too often it was berries, or nothing at all.

Since he was so close to the camp, Sokka didn't bother gutting the animal, like he would have done normally. He'd do it back at the camp, and maybe Katara could use the skin to make something.

The boar wasn't heavy, and it fit easily around Sokka's shoulders. He turned around to go back.

A boy came stumbling into view. He wasn't looking towards Sokka, so his first impression was a teen who'd lost his way. When he turned towards him, however, he slunk back into the shadows. He had hoped never to see Jet again.

Luckily, Jet hadn't seen him. Sokka remained in the shadows until he was sure that he wouldn't hear his footsteps then he took off as quick as he could back to the camp.

"Are you sure it was Jet?"

Sokka had told Katara, Aang, and Toph about Jet as soon as he got back with the boar. They were waiting for the fire to get hot enough. It was at times like these that Sokka wished Aang knew how to Fire bend.

"Yeah, I'm sure. He tried to kill me remember?" Sokka's voice was getting higher. He _really_ didn't like Jet.

Katara looked away. She was still feeling weird that one of the only guys she'd ever really liked had tried to "off" her brother.

"Who'd Jet?" From Toph, obviously.

Aang, who hadn't said anything, turned away. "I hope you never have to find out."

**Yeah, so...review?**


	3. Another Nightmare

**I own nothing**

Sokka was afraid to leave the camp.

It wasn't that he was afraid of Jet...well, it was exactly because he was afraid of Jet. Jet had been the person who had come closest to actually killing him. And they were almost the same age!

He had to leave camp, of course. They would have to camp out here for a couple of days, to wait for the worst of Appa's shedding to be done with. Everyone had to do their share of the work, and for Sokka, that meant hunting.

It wasn't that he was the only one who could hunt, it was that he was the only one who actually liked to do it. Aang had a thing against killing animals. Katara would never be able to kill anything "cute." And Toph would probably spend all day looking for something difficult, like a giant tortoise-hare.

Which left Sokka.

He put it off until there was no more meat left, which only took a day. When he ventured into the forest, it was with threats from Katara about what she would do to him if he came back without a catch.

Sokka had just spotted another boar when a sound made him whip around and the boar to run away. Sokka was very afraid; he was sure that it was Jet. When he saw who it actually was, he was double afraid.

Price Zuko.

Even without a ponytail, Sokke would have known the young prince anywhere, because of the scar. Sokka hid behind a tree, wondering what the odds were that they had picked the same place to camp as their two worst enemies.

Katara was ready to kill her brother when she saw him emerge from the trees empty handed. "What's your problem!" She shouted, "Can't you do anything?"

When he got closer, though, she stopped shouting and started worrying.

Sokka's face was frozen in a mask of fear. Katara had never seen her brother look like this, as if he had just seen something that made him want to die. "What's wrong Sokka?"

He didn't say anything, just sat down on the ground, not even bothering to clear it of Appa's hair. "Sokka?"

Toph came over, her ears perked up, trying to catch everything. Sokka finally spoke. "I...there was...Prince Zuko was in the woods!"

Suddenly, Aang was there, "Zuko? Are you sure?"

Sokka couldn't help himself. "No Aang, I don't know what the guy who's been chasing us for months looks like. Of course I'm sure!"

Aang's eyes were clouded with worry. "We need to get out of here. Sokka could be in terrible danger!"

**Yeah, yeah, I know. Just review anyway.**


	4. Warnings

**Own nothing do we.**

Katara's mouth hung open for a fraction of a second before she started in on Aang, "What do you mean, Sokka's in danger? _You're _the one in danger, Aang. It's you they want."

Aang nodded, he was quiet for a minute, staring into nothingness. He looked back at Katara, his eyes wide, "I don't know what made me say that, Katara. It was a feeling, like if we don't leave today, Sokka might die. I don't know why."

They all stared at him (except Toph, she wasn't very good at staring), "Oh-kay," Sokka said, "This just got a little bit too weird."

Katara scooted towards Aang, "maybe this is another Avatar thing." She said, touching her friend on the shoulder. Aang turned away, became secluded.

"Yeah, what a nice gift to be able to predict your friends death." Aang's voice was indescribably bitter.

Toph coughed, "Not that this conversation isn't touching and just the teeniest bit spooky, I would like to point one thing out." She waited a second, imagining everyone's eyes on her. "We can't leave, Appa's still shedding.

Aang seemed to deflate, his energy leaving him in one motion.

"It'll be over in less then a week," Katara pointed out, "Until then, Sokka will just stay close to camp."

Sokka glared at her. No way was he staying close just because of some stupid Avatar mumbo-jumbo. One glare from his sister, though, and he said, "Sure, Aang, I'll stay."

Aang was hesitant, he didn't want anyone getting hurt. Though, if Sokka really did stay close to the camp, he wouldn't get hurt anyway.

"Fine. Just make sure to stay close. Zuko is a good bender and you're ―" Aang stopped, realizing that this topic was like walking on thin ice with Sokka.

"And I can't bend, yeah, I know." Sokka rolled his eyes, muttering something along the lines of not wanting to do the vodoo anyway.

"Just stay close." Aang inspected Sokka closely. Even though the teen moved like a cat, he was still no match for the fallen Prince, who would like nothing better then to get one of "the avatar's friends" in a trap.

Sokka moved away from the group, wondering why he had even mentioned Zuko or Jet. He was suddenly struck with a terrifying thought. _What if they were working together?_

He shuddered, hoping that that wasn't the case. Taking on Zuko alone was very different from taking on Zuko AND Jet AND Jet's cronies.

That night, Sokka slept very close to Aang, and even that didn't stop the hand from going around his throat.

**Review?**


	5. A Walk

**I own nothing**

Sokka choked, his eyes growing wide. What was this? What was happening. A mouth moved next to his ear, whispering words that Sokka could barely hear. "Say anything and you're dead." Jet.

Sokka's hand slid toward his boomerang. Two seconds later, both his hands were tied behind his back. What was happening? Why would Jet do this? They hadn't done anything to piss him off lately.

Jet pulled on Sokka's hair, his knife to Sokka's throat, reminding him not to scream. He would kill him. "Move it!" The hiss was low and menacing. A kick to Sokka's legs made him moan.

Jet tensed as Katara rolled over. Once he realized that she wasn't waking up, he dragged the knife across Sokka's throat, pressing hard enough to draw blood. "Don't do that again!" he pushed Sokka forward, towards the forest.

Once under the cover of the trees, Sokka realized that there was another person with them. "Why'd you get him, Jet?" it was that little guy (was it a guy? It could be a girl.) "The Scar Dude said he wanted Aang."

Scar Dude. Sokka gulped; that could only mean Prince Zuko.

Jet's voice was hard and crisp. "Aang's the Avatar. I couldn't have gotten him away from there without being airbended into the next city. Him, on the other hand—" he pushed Sokka again, almost causing him to fall. "I got him out of there easy."

Sokka was furious. Just because he couldn't bend didn't mean he couldn't fight. All he needed was his boomerang...

Before Sokka realized what was happening, a piece of cloth had been wrapped around his eyes and another one had been stuck in his mouth. "In case you get any ideas." Jet whispered.

They walked. In the dark, not being able to sense where he was going, Sokka almost fell more times then he could count. _This must be what Toph feels like all the time_, he mused.

They seemed to walk for miles, and just as Sokka was sure that he would collapse if he moved another step, he had the feeling of openness. Maybe they were in a clearing, or out of the woods.

"What's this?" The voice was filled with contempt, without a trace of good feeling. "Where's the Avatar?" The blindfold was removed, and Sokka found himself in a clearing. A small fire was lit in the middle. Prince Zuko and his uncle stood around it, and Jet and his two friends were near Sokka.

Jet pushed Sokka towards Zuko. "He can be your bait." Jet couldn't resist a parting kick.

Zuko nodded. "Fine. He'll do."

Sokka didn't like the sound of that.

**Review**


	6. Decisions

**I own it not**

Aang was woken up by Katara's scream. "What? What's wrong?" he jumped up, staff already in hand, pointing at whatever enemy was coming.

"Sokka!"

Aang was confused, "What about him?" he glanced down at Sokka's sleeping bag, then did a double take. "Where's Sokka?"

Katara held her hand. Clasped between her two middle fingers was a piece of wheat. "Jet." She said, her voice low and bitter.

Aang was confused, "Why Sokka? There's no point! If he wanted anybody, I was right here..." his eyes narrowed. "Zuko."

Katara's eyes became wide. "I get it now. Your prediction came true, Aang. Sokka's life _is_ in danger. They're going to want a trade. Sokka for you." A thin smile came over her face, "Of course, we'll attack his camp before that."

Toph spoke up, "Not a great idea. If we try anything, he'll just kill Sokka. I mean, to him, Sokka's just a bargaining tool. He means nothing." Toph was matter-of-fact, which was one of the few things that could really set Katara off.

"What are we going to do?" she moaned, sinking to the ground. Aang sat down next to her, "We'll think of something, Katara. I'm sure of it."

Katara looked at him, her face tear-stained. "I can't lose Sokka, Aang. I've lost too many people to do that again." She buried her face in Aang's shoulder, causing him to blink a couple of times before patting her on the back awkwardly.

Toph stood up, pacing across the sand, stumbling every once in a while. "Maybe we should go talk to him, then wing it from there."

Aang watched Toph, his jaw going a little slack. "Are you nuts! We can't go against the prince of the Fire Nation and just 'wing it'! We need a plan!" Aang's face turned red, and Momo backed away from him, taking his fruit with him.

Katara plucked on Aang's sleeve, causing him to look back at her, his face turning back to the normal color. "Do you have any better plans? We need to get Sokka out of there. Who knows what he's going through?"

Aang looked at her for a long second, and in that terrible moment, she was sure that Aang would veto the idea, saying it was too dangerous. She decided that if he did say that she would go find her brother anyway.

"Sure. We'll go tomorrow." Katara wondered why tomorrow. Why not today? "We need a day of practice. We are going against a fire bender." Katara nodded. "Fair enough."

**Yeah...review?**


	7. Where There's Smoke

**I own nothing**

Sokka tried to suppress his fear as the Prince of the Fire Nation walked over to him. He felt that the boy was taking too long to get to him. Like he was enjoying making Sokka wait.

Prince Zuko didn't stop until he was inches away from Sokka. If his hands weren't tied, Sokka probably would've tried to kill him. Especially when he felt a hand on his face.

"How old are you?" the question was laced with power, hinting that Sokka had better answer. Still, Sokka debated before saying, "Fifteen." He jerked his face away from Zuko's hand, which had started to emit a startling amount of heat.

Something flickered behind Zuko's eyes before they were once again overpowered by hatred and loathing. "You and I are not much different, you know." Zuko murmured, backing away from his captive.

"I'm nothing like you!" Sokka retorted, angry at the suggestion.

Zuko was silent for a second, before saying, "We're very much alike. We both have sisters with powers far beyond our own." He let the words drop slowly and deliberately, as if speaking to a retarded toddler. Sokka glowered at him.

"We both wish to impress our fathers. For different reasons of course." Sokka wished he could say something without being burned to a crisp.

"Even our ages aren't all that different." The last part was whispered, as if the prince was talking to himself. He shrugged off whatever thoughts he was having, however, and said in a business-like way, "Why are you traveling to Ba Sing Se?"

Sokka wasn't about to give anything away. The safety of the entire world was at stake here.

Zuko extended his arm, a ball of fire hovering inches above the palm. "I don't want to hurt you, but if you don't answer my question..." before he finished his sentence, Sokka rolled his eyes.

"Don't want to hurt me? When have you ever cared about hurting anyone? Everyone knows the fire nation are tyrants and heartless thieves."

Iroh, who had been watching the confrontation without a word, now tensed, knowing that the words were probably true of most of the people in power. "Not all fire benders are ruthless." He said quietly, but Sokka heard him, and ignored it.

Zuko, tired of waiting for an answer, realeased his ball of fire. It was aimed at Sokka's leg and was strong enough to burn through his pants and scorch some of his lower leg. Sokka cried out in pain, automatically doubling over and holding the burn.

"That was nothing." Zuko said. "Soon, you will experience real pain.

Sokka gulped. He really didn't like the sound of that.

**I know - short. Review anyway. **


	8. Ambush

**I own nothing**

Katara cut through the forest, Aang a Toph just behind her. They had left Appa and Momo at the camp.

"Slow down, Katara!" Aang protested. "We don't even know where we're going!"

Katara wouldn't slow down, though. If anything, she went faster. "Why're you going so fast?" Toph asked.

Katara spun around, "I'm going this fast because my only brother is a hostage of the Fire Nation and might be tortured or hurt or...or some other horrible thing!" Tears came out of her eyes, unbidden.

Aang patted her awkwardly on the shoulder. "We'll find him, Katara. I won't give up. Even if we have to fight everybody we'll get him back." He and Toph stood stiffly as Katara gathered herself.

"Let's keep going," Aang said, choosing not to address the subject.

When they found no camp along the along the path, the group strayed off it. The underbrush scratched their skin and pulled at Toph's loose hair. Not far off the path, though it was really the heart of the forest, they found the camp.

It was lucky that Toph was with them, because she felt the vibrations first and without her, they would have walked right into the group. Instead, Toph flung out an arm, stopping Aang mid-step. "There right up there," she said, pointing, her blank eyes looking at Aang. "At least ten of them. Maybe more."

Aang nodded, putting his staff in front of him. Katara uncorked her water. Toph did nothing. The three of them walked straight into the camp.

Everyone was facing the other way. The three had time to take inventory, not letting their presence be known.

There were seven Fire Nation soldiers, all gathered around in a ring. Prince Zuko was in the middle. Iroh was off to the side, shaking his head as if he didn't approve of the sport. Jet and his two cronies were outside the circle, apparently not doing anything.

It was the sight of Sokka that took all the air out of Katara's lungs. His shirt was gone, revealing burned skin that covered his stomach and ribs. When he turned slightly, Katara caught a glimpse of what could have been lash marks, like from a whip.

Bruises covered Sokka's face. A long gash went from his temple to his chin. He bore a faint brown scar for the rest of his days.

Somebody had sensed the trio, and later, none of them remembered which Fire Nation soldier turned first. They didn't remember who threw the first ball of flame. All they remembered was that as soon as he did, all hell broke loose.

**So...review. Merry Christmas! Happy Festivus! **


	9. Battle

**I own it not**

Sokka desperately wished that his hands weren't tied. He wanted more then anything to help his sister and Aang and Toph. Instead, he stood still watching as the battle unfolded.

Toph attacked first ― better to ask forgiveness then permission ― taking out most of Zuko's men in one blast. After her initial attack, she was the only one in the camp still standing.

Getting quickly to his feet, Jet ran towards Katara and Aang, his swords down at his sides, his face set. He wasn't going to stop until he killed someone.

Katara blasted Jet with a long stream of water, pummeling him until he drew back towards the trees. She didn't see his cronies, Long-shot and Smeller-bee until it was too late.

Aang went right up to Zuko, his face contorted in rage. Sokka hoped he wouldn't lose it and go into the Avatar State. "You want to fight?" Aang said, his voice loud and echoing, "fight me." He blasted Zuko into the air with a blast of air, still shouting. "Not my friends!"

Zuko got up, his hands two balls of flame. He went over to Aang, shooting balls of fire at him, which were ducked easily.

"C'mon, Fire Head!" Aang's face was red, his arrows starting to turn white. "That the best you got?"

Zuko and Aang circled each other, muttering curses while shooting elements at each other. Sokka fell to the ground while watching them. He found a sharp stone and started rubbing it against the ropes.

Sokka noticed that there was one other person who wasn't taking a part in the battle. Iroh stood at the other end of the camp, his face registering disappointment. Sokka found himself liking the old man.

Katara turned around just in time to see two people converging on her. She put up her arms, acting in instinct as she threw a wave of water in the general direction of their faces. She didn't judge correctly, though, because the two jumped her, overpowering Katara and throwing her to ground.

Toph found that after the first wave, the soldiers learned to jump. She started throwing boulders in all directions, knocking down the men like wack-a-mole. She forgot to factor in the fact that they all knew how to FireBend.

Aang suddenly realized that not only was he tuning out all the action around him, all the action had stopped. In the instant it took for him to glance around, Zuko tackled him, making Aang fall to the ground.

Sokka was four feet away. He had gone unnoticed until now, and frankly, he liked it that way. He had finally sawed through the last of the rope when Aang was thrown to the ground.

Zuko got up, raising his hand. "Finally," he whispered, staring down at the Avatar, the person he had been chasing for months. "Finally, you're mine." A ball of fire came form his hand.

Aang could do nothing ― his hands were pinioned to the ground. He turned his face away, hearing Katara's scream.

The fire never touched him. He heard a thump to his left and, turning, saw Sokka, the person they had been trying to save, lying unmoving in the dust.

**Reviews are nice.**


	10. The Flight

**I don't own anything.**

Sokka's scream was a loud note of agony that echoed throughout the woods. The action ceased as everyone looked at the fallen boy, who's sound had been cut off abruptly as he hit the ground.

For a second, nobody moved. Zuko's arm was still outstretched, the guard's holds on their captives went slack, Aang stared at the body of his friend, whose face was inches away from his. Everyone was looking at Sokka, whose body had been burned red and raw by the fire that had been aimed at Aang.

Then, acting on an unheard signal, Toph, Katara, and Aang all moved. Toph made a platform of rock appear beneath herself, Katara, Aang, and Sokka. Katara threw off her captors with a well-aimed jet of water. Aang put the Bison whistle to his lips, hoping that Appa would hurry.

Zuko stared at the space in front of him where a pillar of earth rose out of the ground. What had happened? Why had that boy ― Sokka ― thrown himself in front of the fire to save Aang? Why waste your life?

Toph carefully brought together the pillars of rock until they formed a round triangle in the sky. She heard Katara rush over to a different platform, the one that weighed the most. The one with Sokka's body on it.

She heard a strangled sob come form Katara, and Toph buried her face in her hands. They had come to save the boy, not kill him. She imagined Katara's face as she looked at her (dead?) brother.

Aang screamed, not from pain but from anger and frustration and deep, penetrating sadness. Sokka was so _good_. He believed in their battle, even when Aang himself did not believe. He was the core of their shaky band of misfits.

Shouts from below. Zuko's men trying to climb the smooth columns of rock. Toph had a vision of Jet climbing a tree and raised the platform higher, just in case.

A _whoosh_ as air moved past her head. Toph put out her hands, looking for Appa's soft body. She was aware of Aang creating a stretcher out of air and levitating Sokka onto the saddle as Katara jumped in. Toph hoisted herself into the steering position, hoping that Appa was smart enough to guide himself until someone with eyes could take over.

"Oh, Sokka." Katara's voice was low, her throat so swollen that she could barely get the words out. She pushed her brother's hair away from his burned face. Could she heal this? She had only ever tried mending scrapes and bruises and (when Sokka insisted on showing off for Yue) a broken arm. She had never tried to heal burns ― certainly not so many at once.

Aang's voice was soft, with the same forced quality as Katara's own. He, too, was trying not to cry. "You should try, Katara. No sense in not trying."

The pouch was uncorked. Katara drew in a deep breath, feeling the water trickle through her fingers onto the red blisters that covered Sokka's body. The water glowed blue as it's power was awakened. Katara felt some strength drain from her as she watched the blisters slowly...so slowly...disappear.

But was it enough? Did Sokka's body survive the shock of being thrown into an oven so hot in nearly melted the skin off his bones.

For a while, there was no sound except for the air going by them as Appa flew over the immense forest. Katara stared at her brother, knowing that if he died, she would too. Sokka had been her only companion for too many years.

He didn't move. The afternoon fell to twilight, with colors so beautiful that Katara felt that the world was mocking her pain. Didn't everyone on this earth know that her heart was being ripped in two? Couldn't every person hear the scream she was hearing in her own head as she gazed at the body that was lying so incredibly still?

When the first stars started coming out, Katara started crying again. Who was she to think that she could cure the wounds? He was dead, gone forever. Dead trying to save the only other person she loved.

Aang's arm went around her. He felt her thin shoulders shake with sobs as they knelt next to Sokka. He had caused this. Aang knew that. He would never be able to make it okay again. What could he do to replace Sokka?

When the moon began to fall, Katara's head dropped to her chest. Sokka sat up, sat next to her. Laughed at the expression on her face before hugging her so tight she couldn't breathe.

It was a dream, but a good dream. A dream that was worth the pain when you wake up.

A hand touched Katara's and she smiled at her brother, seeing his open eyes glazed over with fever. Another dream. A realistic one, but a dream all the same.

Until Aang started crying. In her dreams, Aang would never cry, but here he was, crying and laughing at the same time as he gazed at Sokka, whose eyes really were open, staring directly at Katara. His mouth formed the words 'I love you'.

Her brother, the one who cared so much ― the one who would die for love ― was alive.

**I think that's the end. So review, 'kay? I want to know what you thought about Sokka's un-death.**


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